Books like Crenshaw

Looking for books like Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of homelessness, imagination, and family. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Crenshaw

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Why each is a match

A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5).
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Piegrades 6–9
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Front Desk640L
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Ghost Boys360L
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrisegrades 5–8
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Thing About Leftoversgrades 4–7
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Streetgrades 3–6
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory810L
Shares themes of imagination and family and overlapping grades (3–6).
Dear Mr. Henshawgrades 4–6
Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

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